Tulfo conducts surprise inspection at NLRC

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the Senate recess, Sen. Raffy Tulfo conducted an unannounced inspection at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) main office in Quezon City on Oct. 13.

As the new chairman of the Senate committee on labor and employment, Tulfo met with workers who were victims of unfair labor practices and spoke with them to check on their situations and the status of their cases filed with the NLRC.

The first group he met consisted of 28 former factory workers from W.L. Foods Corp., who said they had been earning below the minimum wage since 2010.

They also alleged that the company failed to remit their SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, as well as their 13th month pay, overtime pay and other benefits.

Some of the workers had already met Tulfo during his inspection of W.L. Foods in Valenzuela in May 2025, where they exposed the company’s illegal piece-rate, or pakyawan system.

Following that inspection, W.L. allegedly refused to renew their contracts, prompting the workers to file illegal dismissal cases and demand back wages.

They previously filed a complaint with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), but no settlement was reached after W.L. offered only P10,000 each, which is far below the P100,000 they were entitled to.

Tulfo also met with former Lazada delivery riders who complained about the lack of government-mandated benefits and 13th month pay.

They lamented the lengthy reimbursement process for their surety bonds, worth P40,000 to P70,000 each, which they could only claim upon resignation.

Several employees from Shopee Philippines’ warehouse also approached the senator, reporting that their agency was deducting from their salaries for missing parcels, even if the losses were not their fault.

Tulfo likewise encountered overseas Filipino workers, including nurses previously deployed to Qatar, who said their agency refused to pay their rightful salaries and benefits despite their complaints filed with the Department of Migrant Workers.

“Not only are these complainants jobless and without income, but they are also burdened by the repeated need to go to DOLE. When their cases are referred to the NLRC, they again face a long and exhausting process before a decision is made,” Tulfo noted.

During his meeting with NLRC officials, the senator emphasized the need to review and streamline procedures to make them faster.

He stressed that once a DOLE inspector confirms that a company pays below the minimum wage, the company should immediately be required to pay the wage deficiency without having to undergo lengthy NLRC conciliation proceedings.

Citing his proposed Wage Theft Bill, Tulfo also raised the idea of establishing “small claims labor courts” to simplify and expedite the resolution of labor disputes.

He vowed to file a bill to reform the licensing system for security agencies to prevent the common practice of employers transferring company names or ownership to evade legal obligations.

Tulfo also proposed that the NLRC, Department of Trade and Industry and Securities and Exchange Commission maintain a shared database to easily locate companies’ official addresses and ensure they cannot avoid service summons when facing complaints.

He further suggested that companies with pending labor cases before the NLRC should not be allowed to renew their business permits until their cases are resolved.

Tulfo vowed that during the Senate budget deliberations, he would push for additional staffing for the NLRC to ensure faster action on complaints filed by aggrieved workers.